In Japan’s rural prefectures, where rice
fields abound, coin-operated seimaiki,
or rice milling machines, are a common sight. Insert a hundred-yen coin, pour
unmilled rice into the machine and out comes enough freshly milled rice for
your next meal. It’s rare to find seimaiki outside Japan, but Tomohiro Deguchi
is working to change that. Deguchi is the founder of The Rice Factory, which is
bringing Japanese rice to the world and milling it on the spot. The Rice Factory
has locations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and—beginning in June of last
year—Honolulu.

Tucked away in industrial Kaka‘ako, the
Honolulu store has uncooked rice samples displayed on the counter and
instructions for the uninitiated written on a chalkboard: Choose a type of
rice, determine what quantity you want and decide how finely you would like it
milled. Through a window you can peek into the milling room where two seimaiki
do their work. They are roughly the size of washing machines, with console
buttons for selecting the degree of milling, from lightly processed brown to
highly polished white.

Deguchi carries four types of rice that are
household names in Japan: Koshihikari from Nagano, Tsuyahime from Yamagata,
Yumepirika and Nanatsuboshi from Hokkaido. Each has a distinct flavor and
texture. In addition, Deguchi sells the rare Kamiakari variety of rice, which
he grows himself. Simply selling freshly milled rice wasn’t enough for him, so
two years ago he bought a farm in Nagano and became a rice farmer in order to
learn everything he could about the beloved grain.

Most of the rice eaten in Hawai‘i comes from
California, and nobody pays attention to when it was milled. In Japan, milling
dates are printed on the package, and nobody would consider buying rice more
than a week old. Why? “Oxidation begins as soon as rice is milled, so taste and
smell start to degrade,” Deguchi says. He speaks of milled rice as if it’s a
living thing. “Rice needs time to rest,” he says. “If it’s always in a hot climate
like in Hawai‘i, it loses its energy. It thrives when it’s hot in the day and
cool at night.” His personal favorite is the Nanatsuboshi rice, which is famous
for going well with sushi. “It has a clean, crisp taste,” he says. “I could eat
bowlfuls of it day and night.”